Activate a cache that I found on accident?

[JohnnyCache007]

Hi,

 

I headed out to a park today that someone told me had a cache. Without looking at my GPS I used my geosense to find the cache within 10 seconds. Well, it turned out NOT to be the cache, and it hadn't been found since 2011. I then consulted the GPS and found the cache about 300 ft away. I would like to reactive this cache that hasn't been signed since 2011 but I cannot since it's too close to a new one that was placed in 2013.

 

How do I..........

 

1) determine if this has been archived

2) activate it

 

?

 

Thanks!

[+ByronForestPreserve]

If it's that close to an active cache, then the one you found was probably archived at some point, and the remaining container and contents are "geotrash." You cannot re-activate it, both because of distance and because it wasn't under your account in the first place. I suggest looking at the log book to get the name of the cache and doing a search for it. You can still see the cache page and find the cache owner. If you want to be overly polite, you can message them and ask if they want their container back. OF course, if that were the case they would have picked it up some time in the last five years. If it's a good container, then find a new spot that meets the publication guidelines and put it back into play that way.

 

It's possible, but not likely, that the cache is listed at another website OR that it's a letterbox. Finding the cache listing here (or not) will probably tell you which.

[+J Grouchy]

I "rescued" an abandoned and Owner-archived cache some time back. http://coord.info/GC5PBCJ

 

It originally was an offset cache, where the user had to project coordinates from a parking lot. When I pulled up the app, though, it was telling me I was too close to another cache at the coordinates where the cache was located. I ended up moving it about 100 feet away, using the same ammo box and even the same log book.

[+cerberus1]

I headed out to a park today that someone told me had a cache. Without looking at my GPS I used my geosense to find the cache within 10 seconds. Well, it turned out NOT to be the cache, and it hadn't been found since 2011. I then consulted the GPS and found the cache about 300 ft away. I would like to reactive this cache that hasn't been signed since 2011 but I cannot since it's too close to a new one that was placed in 2013.

 

How do I..........

 

1) determine if this has been archived

2) activate it

You say it hasn't been found since '11, so you found a log ?

New one close by, it's probably archived.

Didn't find a letterbox, or you probably woulda mentioned the stamp.

You can't activate it, the CO seems not interested...

 

I'd ask that you please do the Earth a favor if you're able, and remove that geotrash when you can.

[+J Grouchy]

 

You can't activate it, the CO seems not interested...

 

 

Like I posted above, if it's a good quality container in good shape, nothing says you can't rescue it and "re-list" it as your own. It's not technically activating an archived cache, but you certainly can point people back to the original listing in your own cache page.

[+cerberus1]

 

You can't activate it, the CO seems not interested...

 

Like I posted above, if it's a good quality container in good shape, nothing says you can't rescue it and "re-list" it as your own. It's not technically activating an archived cache, but you certainly can point people back to the original listing in your own cache page.

He can't activate it. Nothing "technical" about it.

 

Sure he can "re-list" it, after moving it from the one that's 300' away, with possibly others in the way too.

In the OP's case, when it's moved to a spot 200 (or more) feet away, there isn't much resembling the original, other than the container.

 

Edited for some semblance of clarity.

Edited May 9, 2016 by cerberus1

[+hzoi]

Meanwhile, if you found the cache and signed the log, you can log your find online. Easiest way to locate archived caches is to use project-gc.com, but if you look up the last couple of finders and look through the finds they logged on those dates, you should be able to figure out which cache it is.

[+J Grouchy]

In the OP's case, when it's moved to a spot 200 (or more) feet away, there isn't much resembling the original, other than the container.

 

Honestly, that all depends on the area. If we're talking about a deep woods cache where one spot is nearly indistinguishable from another spot 200 feet away...well, a hint saying "roots of a fallen tree" might apply to fifty spots within a 200 foot radius. So who can really say whether "there isn't much resembling the original"? Even if it's a scenic vista, 200 feet might not make a noticeable difference.

 

Anyway, I was merely offering a helpful suggestion on how to deal with it and what he might do as an alternative, making assumptions about the quality and condition of the container since others were only stating the obvious fact that he could not "re-activate" the archived cache.

[+BCandMsKitty]

If all avenues have failed in contacting the original owner, then I'd remove the "geotrash" clean it up and use it for hide of my own.

 

An amusing thing, sort of related, happened yesterday. I was doing drive-by maintenance on one of our caches, and as I was removing a stick of gum from it, MsKitty said "What's that over there", pointing out an object at the base of another tree, 3 trees away from where GZ was for our cache.

Lo and behold, it was the original container for this hide that had gone missing over a year ago. Unable to find it, after looking all over, I had hidden a new container.

YES!

Now I get to hide it somewhere else, and remove some geotrash as well.